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A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa is an hour-long Christmas special starring the Muppets, which first aired on December 17, 2008 on NBC.NBC Press Release. September 25, 2008 The plot involves the Muppets mistakenly intercepting three letters sent by children to Santa Claus and their attempts to fix the problems created by their mishap. Celebrity appearances include Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Sirico, Steve Schirripa, Richard Griffiths, Jane Krakowski, Uma Thurman, Jesse L. Martin, Madison Pettis, Petra Nemcova, Nathan Lane, Paul Williams and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Plot The program opens with the Muppets waiting in line at the post office to mail their Christmas cards. While there, the Muppets mistakenly intercept three letters sent by children to Santa Claus. Later, Claire, a young girl who lives in the same building as the Muppets, is disappointed when Gonzo reveals that the Muppets will not be around for Christmas as they are all going on vacation. However, the Muppets soon realize that the spirit of the holidays is more important than their vacation, and they attempt to fix the problems created by their mishap and get the averted letters to Santa Claus before Christmas. They rush to the airport via taxi, where they encounter Joy, a friendly ticket agent, and Officer Meany, a bitter airport security guard. They try to catch a flight to the North Pole before it's too late. The special features four original songs written by frequent Muppet collaborator Paul Williams, who also appears in the special as an elf. NBC Press Release. September 25, 2008. Trivia *One of Fozzie's joke cards says "What do you call a reindeer wearing ear muffs? Anything you want because it can't hear you!" This is a reference to the song "North Pole Comedy Club" from the album A Green and Red Christmas. Cast :Muppet Performers: *Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz, Bill Baretta, Eric Jacobson, Pam Arciero, Heather Asch, Tyler Bunch, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, James Godwin, Jim Kroupa, Matt Vogel, Tim Lagasse, Peter Linz, Edward Noel MacNeal, Jim Martin, Paul McGinnis, Marty Robinson, David Rudman :Human Cast *Michael Bloomberg as himself *Whoopi Goldberg as a cab driver *Richard Griffiths as Santa Claus *Jane Krakowski as Claire's Mom *Nathan Lane as Officer Meany *Jesse L. Martin as postal worker *Petra Nemcova as Beaker's girlfriend *Madison Pettis as Claire *Steve Schirripa as Mafia guy *Tony Sirico as Mafia guy (Johnny) *Uma Thurman as Joy *Paul Williams as Santa's chief elf Muppet Cast ;Muppet Characters *Rizzo the Rat, Camilla, Pepe the Prawn, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Sweetums, Luncheon Counter Monster, Big Mean Carl, Sam the Eagle, The Swedish Chef, Lew Zealand, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Scooter, Robin the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Statler and Waldorf, Beaker, Crazy Harry, Dr. Teeth, Animal, Floyd Pepper, Zoot, Pigeons ;Background Muppets *Rats, Pops, Beauregard, Chickens, Penguins, Turkey Crew :Directed by Kirk L. Thatcher :Story by Paul Williams and Hugh Fink & Scott Ganz & Andrew Samson :Teleplay by Hugh Fink & Scott Ganz & Andrew Samson & Paul Williams :Original Songs by Paul Williams :Score by Chris Caswell :Produced by Martin G. Baker :Edited by Jamie Kirkpatrick :Puppet Captain: Bill Barretta :Muppet Workshop: Jane Gootnick, supervisor; Melissa Creighton, Peter MacKennan, Tom Newby, Stephen Rotondaro :Visual Effects by Look FX N.Y. :Puppets Provided by Puppet Heap :Filmed in Part at Steiner Studios and on location in New York City :Special Thanks To: New York State Office for Motion Picture & Television Development; The City of New York Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting :©2008 The Muppets Studio LLC Photo Gallery Image:Krakowski-lts.jpg|Jane Krakowski and Madison Pettis with the Muppets. Image:Misspiggy-lts.jpg|Miss Piggy Image:Letters_to_Santa_(4).jpg|Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in line at the post office Image:Letters_to_Santa_(3).jpg|Petra Nemcova with Beaker. Image:Letters_to_Santa_(7).jpg|Scooter with Miss Piggy and Kermit Image:Letters_to_Santa_(14).jpg|Kermit the Frog Image:Letters_to_Santa_(6).jpg|Nathan Lane with the Muppets. Image:Lts01.jpg|Jesse L. Martin as a postal worker Image:Lts02.jpg|Claire welcomes a penguin and Rowlf the Dog into her appartment Image:Lts03.jpg|NBC.com promo Image:Lts04.jpg|Animal in a NBC.com promo Image:Lts05.jpg|Kermit dances at the post office Image:Lts06.jpg|Gonzo lands in a mail bin Image:Lts07.jpg|Gonzo, Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Pepe the King Prawn, and Rizzo the Rat hanging onto an airplane wing Image:Lts08.jpg|Uma Thurman as Joy Image:Lts09.jpg|Miss Piggy and Kermit Image:Lts10.jpg|Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo dance in the hall Image:Lts11.jpg|The Muppets aboard Santa's sleigh Image:Lts12.jpg|The Muppet at the North Pole Image:Lts13.jpg|Miss Piggy at the post office Image:Sam-postoffice.jpg|Fozzie Bear and Sam Eagle at the post office Image:Lets01.jpg|Pepe in the airport Image:Lets02.jpg|Gonzo, Fozzie, Kermit, Rizzo and Pepe inside a New York taxi cab Image:Lets03.jpg|Rats sing Christmas carols Image:Lets04.jpg|The Muppets Image:Lets05.jpg|Kermit caught at the post office Image:Lets06.jpg|Rowlf the Dog, Robin and Dr. Teeth at the piano Image:Lets07.jpg|Kermit in line at the post office Image:Lets08.jpg|The Swedish Chef and two "mafia guys" Image:Lets09.jpg|Scooter watches as Piggy slams the door on Kermit's face Image:Lets10.jpg|Gonzo and Kermit ride the wing of a plane Image:Lets11.jpg|The Muppets dance in the hall Image:Lets12.jpg|The Muppets dance in the hall Image:Lets13.jpg|Rats and a penguin Image:Lets14.jpg|Crazy Harry blows something up at Claire's appartment Image:Lets15.jpg|Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy Image:Lets16.jpg|Petra Nemcova kisses Beaker's nose. Image:Lets17.jpg|Singing postal workers Image:Lets18.jpg|Gonzo, Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Pepe the King Prawn, and Rizzo the Rat hanging onto an airplane wing Image:Lets19.jpg|The Muppets sing together Image:Lets20.jpg|Pepe at a resturant Image:Lets21.jpg|NBC.com promo card Sources External links * ToughPigs.com set visit, Day 1 * ToughPigs.com set visit, Day 2 * Muppet Central's Interview with the writers - Andrew Samson, Hugh Fink and Scott Ganz * NBC Holiday season promo * NBC.com preview 1 * NBC.com preview 2 * NBC.com Exclusive Muppet interviews * The Muppets' "Glad All Over" music video * Facebook event for the premiere, open to all * Review: 'Muppets Christmas' the best Muppets special in quite some time (Scripps News Service) Muppet Christmas, A Muppet Christmas, A